Return
by Fairwilloftheangel
Summary: After killing Katherine once and for all, Damon returned to the place he once stayed when he was spying on Stefan. But he reached his destination only to find out one devastating truth. Bella's dead. Is she really?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight or Vampire Diaries. They both belong to their rightful owners.**

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**~~RETURN~~**

**Summary: After killing Katherine once and for all, Damon returned to the place he once stayed when he was spying on Stefan. But he reached his destination only to find out one devastating truth. Bella's dead. Or is she really?**

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**Damon POV**

He had failed. Stefan got Elena and he has no one. Katherine's dead. Fell's Church is in good terms now. Who would want a vampire here? Matt once thought. Yeah, Katherine's gone so everybody now wants to get rid of Damon—the only threat left. Damon thinks that's sweet. But after how he helped them? How he stood up against Katherine himself?

He went to the land where he had stayed while he was spying on Stefan. There, he had a house buddy named Bella. She was the only human person who knew and even understands him. And she was the only girl Damon never sucked blood from. She was weirdly kind and definitely Damon's taste but he never thought of drinking her blood. He talks to her like he expects her to understand. She does understand though.

And He only left there for two reasons.

First, he wants to keep close to Elena and Stefan, and there he lived with Alaric. Second and last, he hated ruining Bella's human life. Bella became his friend, best friend even. But she wanted more. She wanted Damon to be more. She knows about Katherine. She thought she had a chance but when she discovered about Elena's existence…she knew she lost.

"_Damon…don't leave." Bella grabbed Damon's arm. He refrained from eye contact as he tugged her hand off him as gently as possible. "When you leave you won't be coming back! Damon, please!" Bella knelt blocking the door as she sobbed, knowing that she's not strong enough to keep him back. "Damon!" he took off as a crow out the window and left Bella sobbing miserably._

He regretted it now. Up there in the sky he was now coming back to that boarding house. He thought about what might had happened to Bella. Did she left? It's been 20 years since he last saw her. And is she…married? He thought sourly, never in his entire life that he thought about getting married. But humans don't have the time of their lives. His mind lingered some more on the topic of getting married when he felt a bit of hunger.

He decided to take a break.

His schedule was a bit in order now that he was free…too free for he has nothing to do. He landed behind a tree alongside the sidewalk. He stayed there for a while and kept on watch for a beautiful girl. It was a nice warm day for human affairs but why does it seem that not much human is around? No beautiful human at least. He decided not to get picky. He saw just a random someone and snatched her and went deep into the forest. She wasn't good-looking, red head, not at all his type, yet she's not that ugly either. Very average looking…Damon wasn't happy about that. Yet his needs were urgent...

The girl was dazed, staring dreamily at Damon like he was an angel…a dark angel actually. Damon smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry…it won't hurt if you'll cooperate and you won't even remember pain." Damon leaned in to her neck, which the girl fully allowed. He pierced the girl's skin and sucked the sweet blood imperatively. But he wouldn't want to drain her…the girl has a future he thought bitterly, remembering his friend. He placed her down the trail which will easily lead her out of the forest. He forced some of his charms on the girl. "You met me in a bar, okay?" The girl nodded and a crow flew away.

He flew on a dark alley, where the corner to the apartment. He wondered randomly if he would meet someone he knew…but decided to risk it. People would be at least in their thirties or early forties…and they would notice Damon's forever twenty years old figure that is...if they still remembered him.

"Damon?" an old woman's voice came behind him. It surprised him that it was the caretaker of the house next door who was…still alive. She looked as though she's in her seventies but he knew she was eighty-nine. _Wow she's still alive,_ Damon thought in awe. It surprised him more that the aged woman remembered him. "Damon? Is that you dear?" she adjusted her large glasses and focused on him. He tensed. He was deliberating whether or not he should acknowledge his name.

"Auntie Dell," he greeted coolly and with feigned surprise. It wouldn't make much difference. Dell still lives alone and is still the house caretaker if she would notice that he doesn't age, he can easily compel her with his powers. She's elderly and can easily be mind-controlled.

"Damon…what a surprise to see you…here," she stuttered as she adjusted her glasses to take a good look at him. He stepped back a little, frowning at her. He's sure that she'll notice that he still looked the same. But would anyone believe her? They might even think that she's delusional and put her in a Mental Institution.

"Yeah." He answered wryly. Damon was thinking about the things he needed to know and since the old lady was here anyway...why couldn't she make herself useful? He smiled at her and politely asked, "_Auntie_, does Bella still live here?" That trick always works to anyone no matter what their age is. That is if they heard him at all...

"What son?" She strained her ears at him. Damon gritted his teeth in frustration. Why do elderly people always do that to him?

He sighed. "Does Bella still live here?" He emphasized every word with feigned kindness. It doesn't help his temper when he repeats himself, but the old lady doesn't notice that.

Realization dawned on the old woman's face. "Oh, no dear." Dell shook her head with remorse. Damon stopped his breathing when he recognized the tone of the voice. His expression was foreign even to him. He was never lost of words but here he is stuttering on the words that can form his question. "Didn't you hear the news, Damon?" Dell asked sadly.

"What news?" he asked. He wasn't someone who takes liking to watching televisions for entertainment. He stared at Dell, trying to read her mind, but all he got was images of the television screen with a burning boat in it. Then it dawned to him. But Aunt Dell continued and said:

"She was one of the passengers of the ship that had been blown up years ago. A month after you left…"

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**A/N: This is the first time I wrote a Vampire Diaries and Twilight Crossover so tell me if it's fine or not. I actually forgot that I wrote it, I just found this on one of my folders when I was searching for my paperwork so I decided to post it. I'm planning on adding chapters but not of this time. I'm still busy with school works and training stuffs so my schedule is kind of strained.**

**~Anyways, His reaction would be in the next chapter. **


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight or Vampire Diaries. They both belong to their rightful owners.**

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**~~RETURN~~**

**Summary: After killing Katherine once and for all, Damon returned to the place he once stayed when he was spying on Stefan. But he reached his destination only to find out one devastating truth. Bella's dead. Or is she really?**

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_**Previously...**_

_Realization dawned on the old woman's face. "Oh, no dear." Dell shook her head with remorse. Damon stopped his breathing when he recognized the tone of the voice. His expression was foreign even to him. He was never lost of words but here he was, stuttering on the words that can form his question. "Didn't you hear the news, Damon?" Dell asked sadly._

"_What news?" he asked. He wasn't someone who takes liking to watching televisions for entertainment. He stared at Dell, trying to read her mind, but all he got was images of the television screen with a burning boat in it. Then it dawned to him. But Aunt Dell continued and said:_

"_She was one of the passengers of the ship that had been blown up years ago. A month after you left…"_

**~:~:~**_  
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**Damon POV**

He stood there, motionless and expressionless, not even bothering to answer the poor old woman when she asked him a question. He stood there, his mind wandering to his ventured past, to the past of what he deemed to be a mistake. He couldn't think of other things other than the words that had escaped his tactless mouth. The words that he has no idea could kill the only person who had ever learned to like the true him.

Was this the repayment for his sins? Was her life the penalty for his wrongdoings? His thoughts were in a dirty jumble of knots. He can't seem to find his senses as though they had dulled the moment that he had saw the burning image in his head. Her eyes, betrayed and wounded, were the last image that he had seen the moment he left. It pained him, though he tried very hard to deny it, to imagine, to _know_ that he was the source of her anguish.

The old woman never comprehended the depth of his clashing emotion. She only saw an impassive man, standing in front of her, forgetting that she was even there. He stood there with no hint of motion, no hint of disturbance, only indifference. She thought that he didn't hear her and so she repeated the particular news to him, oblivious that he had heard every word and more.

Due to the anger that flushed through his veins, he left the old haggard woman with such violent haste. He didn't bother to get out of sight before he altered himself to his animal form. Black feathers, black eyes and sharp claws sprouted from his little form. The old woman, Dell, who Damon had momentarily forgotten, calmly stood there, with her eyes wide open...though the light in her mild blue eyes seemed to be expecting such incident to happen.

Damon suppressed the urge to kill the old woman for her cold, adamant conception of the matter. He yearned to make her death as painful as possible, to let her watch, to force her to watch, as he suck the life out of her. To make her pay for her cold nature, to remind her to never mess with him, but he fought it back, knowing that her old age wouldn't make her last any longer than a few years.

Marie Dell was never kind to anyone apart from him and she had like him under her compelled state. If it wasn't for his interception, she would have hated him too, just as she had hated everyone. He knew the fact that she treated everyone around her like outcasts, which was why she had always been alone. She loathed Bella for liking the house that she was maintaining. But she never showed that up front, especially in front of her superior.

Bella didn't like Dell for that reason, but she remained formal. She didn't flaunt around her dislike like Dell had in other company. Dell had been indifferent and she would rather have the whole house for herself. But Bella's parents owned the house ever since its previous owner had sold it to them. Dell remained in the house, claiming that she would maintain its cleanliness hence why she was hired as the housekeeper.

Damon closed his eyes for a moment, discharging the memories of the old horrid housekeeper. He still remained stable in the air, immersing himself with the warm breeze that he fervently fought on his way to the destination he only had in mind. He was sure that nobody would disturb him there. And that was true.

A mile due north of South Carolina, surrounded with dozen fir trees, barely out the outskirts of the forest, near a small dark bottomless lake, was an abandoned warehouse. Its paint was dull gray, discolored due to time and annual rainfall. It is ten feet from the ground and as wide as a twelve-wheeler truck. Damon was sure that its isolated state would cause it still to be vacant.

He flapped his wings, coated with black silky feathers. His eyes were sharp. No one would even perceive the glistening tear beneath them. Even he, himself, did not notice, being too occupied with his troubled thoughts. He hurried and the air was whooshing pass him in haste. He caught sight of the warehouse after a few moments and then he started to descend.

He dropped himself on one sturdy branch near a huge open window. He used it as a bridge so he could get in. The thing he liked with abandoned warehouses is that he wouldn't need to ask for permission in order to get in. He could just simply enter...like he owns the place...and he did.

He had a lot of thing set up inside the second floor of the warehouse. People would have easily gotten in the there, but they wouldn't be able to get upstairs since Damon had severed the stairs. It was too high to jump for a normal human and Damon made sure of that because he didn't want his belongings to be touched by anyone else.

As soon as he entered, he settled himself on the couch near the bookshelf by the window. He sighed and rubbed the crease on his forehead. He wished he could also rub out the unsettling memories that had been troubling him for awhile. He shut his eyes close, willing the images to go away. He wished he could forget _everything_. But he simply can't and so one certain memory had wormed its way to the forethought of his mind...

_He was standing beside the carts of fruit vendors, hiding in the shadows of the alley as he spied his brother, asking for directions on some certain locations. Damon's stare was planted on his brother's back and he smirked as he noticed Stefan's discomfort. He knew that his little brother felt it and it satisfied him to no end. It would only be a matter of time before Damon would make himself known to him, but as of now, he seek amusement with Stefan's distress._

_Then someone tapped his shoulder. "Excuse me, sir," said a little voice. He suppressed the instinct to growl and turned to the person who had disturbed him. It was a girl, not any older than sixteen._

"_What?" he asked._

"_Could you get me one apple from up there?" the girl, who was walking with a small basket attached to her arm, asked him. Damon looked her over, removing his gaze from his oblivious brother across the distance. She was wearing a short pallid dress that flows till her bruised knees. Her dark mahogany her, pulled up in a dirty bun, with some loose strands scattered on her face. _

_Her face was angelic, a face that every _gentleman_ would certainly seek to marry. She has those doe-like eyes, filled with pure innocence and compassion, those plump red lips that any male would wish to taste. Her pale ivory skin, as soft as velvet with hint of mild purple bruises all over, which indicated her clumsy nature. Yet, people could see her elegance and beauty._

_But Damon thought otherwise. All he saw was an innocent human girl, who is foolish enough to disturb a dangerous creature such as him. He thought that she was one of those vigorous females, but her eyes revealed her gentle spirit. Damon stared at her chocolate brown eyes with curiosity as to how deep it was. It was as deep as the earth, deeper even, that he couldn't look away from them. Realizing this, Damon averted his gaze to the apple tree, away from the girl's hypnotic eyes._

"_Which one?" he asked the girl, but his eyes, wandering over to his brother. His eyes narrowed when he found out that Stefan already left. He cursed silently and turned to the girl once again. The wind twirled her hair and he got a good whim of her scent. She smelled very enticing but he wasn't going to give in. He didn't want to give in._

_The girl didn't notice his preoccupation as she was focusing on the red fruits on the tree. He watched as she pursed her lips, his eyes trailed on her neckline. Her veins pumped her sweet mouth-watering blood, freely, without any hindrance. The temptation was barely bearable, but as he stared in her eyes, he knew he can't do anything to hurt the human girl. "That one—the one near the branch over there!" she exclaimed, with profound giddiness, unaware of the fact that she could have died just then._

_He briefly gazed at his watch and gave out a sigh. He knew that if he wanted to follow Stefan, he would need to hurry. He turned to the girl again. She was looking at him curiously. It wasn't the same gaze that he gets from the lusty females he had encountered so many times. Her gaze was more in the brink of wonder._

_He looked around him and noticed that people seemed to have dispersed due to the upcoming rain and they're now pretty much alone. He figured that if he'll be quick to just give the human girl what she wants, he could follow Stefan and that's what he did. _

"_Close your eyes," he compelled her. But there seemed to be no effects. Her flawlessly trimmed brows knitted together in the middle of her forehead, wondering with confusion as to why he would ask her to do such. Damon was momentarily curious as to why she wasn't affected by his ability but he just smiled at her, concealing his annoyance with the simple gesture. "Trust me," he murmured silently. The smile placated her that he meant well._

_She closed her eyes, smiling as she did so. He looked at her for a moment, wondering about her mysterious smile. Then his gaze turned to the ripe fruit on top of the tree. He didn't waste any more time as he turned to a crow and bit the branch supporting the fruit. The apple fell down and Damon immediately changed back to his human form and caught the apple before it touched the ground. "Open your eyes," he said._

_Her eyelashes were long and it fluttered for a bit before her eyes fully opened. "Thank you, sir," she thanked him, with a smile lingering on her lips. _

_Damon smirked and offered to kiss her hand, a gesture that he likes to do ever since he was human. He felt the blood rush and colored her cheeks with a blush of red as she gave her hand for him to kiss. He did so while staring at her brown orbs. "I'm Damon, just Damon," he whispered monotonously. He was trying to act casual as much as possible. He doesn't like to show his emotions upfront to people, especially to those he barely knows. _

"_I'm Isabella, just Bella," she said, smiling, the red blush still on her face. He turned his gaze to the direction where his brother disappeared and thought that it could wait. Stefan could wait. _

That was the first day he had found a _friend_. A word that now seemed so foreign to him. He knew that his plans weren't for the right purpose at first. He had planned to taste her sweet blood the day that they 'accidentally' met again, but one glance in her deep brown eyes made everything change. Slowly, he started to open up to her, revealing his secrets little by little.

Her reaction was not what he expected in the time that he revealed his biggest secret. He expected her to pass it off as a joke or run off, but she stayed, willing to listen for the whole story. It was like she already knew, like she expected it to come up in the conversation. Or maybe she was just a good actress—good enough to cover up her fright.

He remembered the time when he told her about his brother and how he was stalking him, she had offered to help by letting him stay in the spare room in her house. But a few years passed and he felt the change in her. He felt the undeniable tension that forms when he's in the same room as her. He felt her meaningful stare when his back was to her. He felt the same things that the other females felt when he's with them and it unnerved him.

He had known her since she was sixteen and had seen her numerous times till she reached eighteen. Her parents never knew he even existed and they continued to have no knowledge about it. She was like a child to him, ignorant of the real things in life. But her sudden change was a doze of vertigo to him. It confused and surprised him, though he tried not to show it to her.

He leisurely tried to untangle himself from her life. But as time passed by, her attachment to him only seemed to strengthen and it bothered him. He tried to go out with other women just to make her back off, she did but her new found attraction to him remained. He tried other methods, too, but all of them were futile.

She never told him about her standpoint on the matter until the last day they had together, the day that he had left. There was never the need though. It was very apparent to him and it was also noticeable that he didn't return the same sentiment. She didn't care though. She didn't care that he doesn't look at her like she wanted to. She only wished that he stayed and Damon knows that.

But he has to leave. He has to leave the town and move to Fell's Church to be near his brother. That was his main motive since the beginning. But seeing Elena, whose features greatly resembles Katherine, his plans began to change. He made occasional visits to Elena's house just to spy on her and he was enthralled to learn that his brother wanted her too. Then it became a game to him and he was committed to win.

All of his actions had affected a lot of people in negative ways. But he didn't see through his self-centered ideas. He was too focused on getting Elena more than anything to notice how other people gets hurt in the process. The intervals of his visits were also the period of his disappearance from Bella's life. But he never viewed it that way. For him, it was the time he got near to getting his _'princess of darkness.'_

He remembered the sacrifices he did and the fights that he endured in order to win. But in the end, Stefan still got the girl and he was left with nothing. He remembered the day when he thought that Elena died because of drowning. All he thought about was how nothing changed and he was still the same. He was aware that Stefan changed. He even drank the blood of people in order to be strong enough to fight him off. And that was something big.

Damon knew that he wouldn't change even if Elena chose him. He was aware that his attitude and everything else about him would remain constant. It was already imprinted in his nature when he got changed. He knew that a lot of people didn't like him because of that. He knew some of them even hated him. But though he had thought of changing his attitude, he can't just simply change it.

It already defines him and though he, Damon, would not admit it...he wanted acceptance. Even when he was human, his father had treated him like a burden. And he hated the fact that Stefan was favored over him. And he didn't like his brother ever since he was born. He blamed him for everything. He blamed him for losing his mother, who was the only one who had ever accepted him. He blamed Stefan when he lived instead of his mother.

That was the reason why he wanted everything that Stefan wanted. He wanted to have something that would remind Stefan of what he had stolen from him. He wanted to make him feel what he had felt when he had lost his mother. _What would Stefan had felt back then?_ Damon thought. _He was just an infant, he wasn't even aware that he had murdered her._

That was what motivated him to steal Elena from him. But she had chosen Stefan. Elena had rejected Damon. But of course, she didn't know anything. She didn't know what that had done to him. She didn't know that that was what Damon had always feared. _Rejection_. Damon had already experienced it many times. Now, he only wants acceptance. The acceptance no one had given to him.

There was someone else, apart from his mother who had always understood and accepted him, but he was too ruled-by-hatred to notice _her_.

She was there when he had asked her a favor. She even spied on Stefan at certain occasions for him. She did whatever he wished her to do without questions. She listened to his scheming even though it had disturbed her. He knew that it disturbed her that he was leaving. But she, Bella, was always there, waiting for him to _return_ every time he was away...though the last time was...permanent.

He was leaving...and he'd not..._return_.

He remembered what he said to her._ "I'm leaving."_ He knew back then that it would upset her, but he had done it so many times that he had gotten used to it. But she was aware that at that time...it was different. He would not come back. He would not return to her and it pained her that she could not make him stay. She didn't have the strength to stop him from leaving...

His eyes snapped open when he felt a powerful force near his location. He turned to the direction of the pull but it disappeared the moment he stepped towards it. He was sure that he wasn't just imagining it, so sure even though he's uncertain of its location. He stayed put in his position but remained alert with his surroundings, just in case it comes back.

"Well, this is certainly unexpected," a voice interjected out loud. He turned around abruptly and his eyes met the eyes of the person he never thought of seeing again. She stood by the window, her dark long mahogany hair cascading down pass her shoulders. She was dressed in a black fitted dress that ends three inches below the knee, her feet propped in black three-inched heels. Her expression showed no other feelings than surprise and mocking wonder, an expression that he had never seen her wear before.

"Bella?"

Then a huge smirk crossed her face...

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**A/N: ****I feel bad for not updating so frequently, you guys deserve much better effort than what I'm capable of. Sigh. ****I won't be able to update for awhile, but I'm leaving this preview to make up for it. I hope it does. ****Please tell me what you think. It's really nice hearing your opinions and thoughts on this.**

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**Preview for the next chapter:**

"I know that you think he's not the kind of man I would want for myself, that he's not the kind of man that you would want for me. But—" Then she gave out a sarcastic laugh. "Don't you think that that's a little bit hypocritical, Damon? I mean, I am aware that he sleeps with other women, human women, just like you do." she hinted with a little bit of irritation. But then he continued to listen as though her words didn't mean anything to him at all.

She took no notice of his indifference as she continued. "We both know that it is his way of entertaining himself, right?" She asked again but it was clear to him that she wasn't expecting an answer. Her tone was becoming was more serious in every minute that passed. And Damon knows that she's serious though her tone showed otherwise.

"I also know that he flirts and socialize with human sluts but then he drinks them dry right afterwards." She gave out another dry laugh before continuing. "Of course, he occasionally meets other women like us, but I'm not worried or bothered. I know what he does and I accept it no matter what," she fervently said the words and Damon knew that Bella believed in every word that she had just said to him.

"Why?" he breathed out after a moment of silence. Her eyes refocused on him, not a smile on her lips. "Why do you trust him?" he asked curiously, removing the concern from his tone.

"Because he _always_ comes back to me," she emphasized on the certain word and Damon slightly recoiled from her cold steady gaze.


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight or Vampire Diaries. They both belong to their rightful owners.**

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**~~RETURN~~**

**Summary: After killing Katherine once and for all, Damon returned to the place he once stayed when he was spying on Stefan. But he reached his destination only to find out one devastating truth. Bella's dead. Or is she really?**

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_**Previously...**_

His eyes snapped open when he felt a powerful force near his location. He turned to the direction of the pull but it disappeared the moment he stepped towards it. He was sure that he wasn't just imagining it, so sure even though he's uncertain of its location. He stayed put in his position but remained alert with his surroundings, just in case it comes back.

"Well, this is certainly unexpected," a voice interjected outloud. He turned around abruptly and his eyes met the eyes of the person he never thought of seeing again. She stood by the window, her dark long mahogany hair cascading down pass her shoulders. She was dressed in a black fitted dress that ends three inches below the knee, her feet propped in black three-inched heels. Her expression showed no other feelings than surprise and mocking wonder, an expression that he had never seen her wear before.

"Bella?"

Then a huge smirk crossed her face...

**~:~:~**

**Damon POV**

"Damon," she acknowledged with a smirk on her face. Damon wasn't sure, but it seemed to him that she was pleased about something. _Perhaps, it was my reaction,_ he thought sourly. He knew that he shouldn't have acted surprised. But how could he not? This girl in front him, was the same girl he thought he'd never see again. "Are you alright Damon? You seem to be going into shock," she whispered in a tone that Damon had never heard from her before.

"Are you real?" he lightheartedly asked, his eyes trained on hers as he waited for a response.

Then he heard her laugh, the same laugh that he was accustomed to hear twenty years ago. "I'm very much real as you are," she answered, rolling her eyes at his tactics. Her voice was amused and sultry. It was not the same voice he used to hear before, but her laugh was the same. He was somehow glad to find out that there were still things about her that were still the same, that somehow, he still knows who she is.

He silently watched as she walked around the room, examining every piece of furniture, her heels clicking at every step she makes. Then she suddenly turned and looked directly at him with a questioning look on her face. "I'd never guess that you'd prefer this place," she commented looking around the room with mild critical eyes. He could clearly see that she was not impressed.

She turned to meet his eyes again and he saw the puzzled glint in her brown orbs. "I deemed you as one who prefers luxury and comfortable living. I sort of assumed that you'd choose some place much more..._suitable_ for your taste," she added as she eyed the old stone-hard bed with distaste. "But I was wrong, wasn't I?" she asked, sitting down at the edge of the bed, crossing her legs and looking at him expectantly.

"No, you're quite right," he calmly admitted, smirking slightly at the curious look on her face. She looked so transparent, as though her thoughts were ironed on her forehead, but Damon knew better. He knows that she's hiding something...he just can't figure it out. He kept his eyes trained on hers as he propped himself on the couch, his head supported by his right hand as he watched the emotions crossing her face.

She smirked as though she finds his answer quite humorous and it supposedly was. "Really? Well then it seems like you've lowered your standards, Damon," she smiled beatifically at him and he looked away, disappointed. He hoped to decode the purpose of her visit, but according to the expression she has, it seems like he'll have to work harder for it. Also, her actions seemed to point out that she indeed knew that he was trying to figure her out and she was certainly amused.

Damon caught on the mock in her tone and he instantly grew cautious. He knows that their conversation wouldn't be entirely about lifestyle preference. He knows that she wasn't there by accident. He assumed that she was the one who had been watching him for quite awhile now. She might be the one who had been following his trail ever since he left Mystic Falls.

With all the anxious inquiries forming inside his head, he replied nonetheless. "I didn't have time for shopping when I found this place so I borrowed some furniture...without permission," he said, putting words that would not give his speculations away. "I do intend on returning them, that is, if I can still remember where I got them," he added, sitting up and reaching for the half-full wine, he spotted on the floor.

Damon could feel her stare fixated on him, but he refused to look at her and searched for a glass somewhere. "Well, then you haven't change a bit, Damon," she whispered. He heard her rise up from the edge of the bed, making as minimal noise as much as possible. Curiosity as to why she stood up got the best of him, he permitted himself to look. He saw her making her way towards him, with a wineglass in her hand.

"Oh, didn't I?" he asked as he filled the glass with the wine and watch as her lips touched the rim and the alcohol disappeared to her mouth. He averted his eyes to look at the smooth hand holding the glass. The semi-precious gemstone, lapis lazuli, stood out on her right hand. She was wearing the ring, the protective talisman, on her ring finger and it made him curious.

"No, you didn't," she countered suddenly, making him look away from the dark blue stone on her finger. Her tone was firm and Damon knew that she should not be contradicted. "Though...I expected you to be much more..._different_." she said the word as though she was expecting something changed about him. Damon stared at her questioningly, asking what she meant by the specific word. _Vampires are constant creatures. They don't change._

As though she read his mind, she quickly smiled and the simple act silenced his thoughts. "I thought the girl would change you. Wait. You got your girl, didn't you?" she asked, her tone didn't have at least a hint of cautiousness. It was abrupt and casual, like she was trying to avert his thoughts from the ring...and it seemed to work.

Damon did not expect that. He assumed her to show a little bit concern, but she only seemed to be teasing him and not at all serious. "What girl?" he asked, feigning confusion. He knew exactly who she was referring to, but he didn't like to acknowledge it, feeling that she might just let go of the topic if he did not answer.

She crossed her arms and tilted her head to the right, her hair flowing to the same direction. "Y_our_ Elena?" she asked, looking around the room as though she'll find someone there. Damon easily figured out what she was trying to do but he kept quiet and refrained from frowning. He knew that she was trying to get a reaction from him and he knew that she was slowly succeeding. "Well that's odd...I thought she'll be with you. Ain't she your 'Princess of Darkness' now?" she asked in a saccharine voice that was so unlike her.

"Stefan got her before me," he whispered, not showing any emotion with his apathetic facade. But he was sure that she at least saw his discomfort, which explained the slight smile lingering on her lips. Then he realized that she was trying to evoke a violent reaction from him, a reaction that he was trying hard not to release. His jaw locked and his eyes became guarded as he waited for her response.

"Oh, really?" she asked, acting surprised and awed. "Who knew that little Stefan could once again steal the girl of your dreams?" she said, clearly expecting that she would not get an answer from him. She walked around him, her fingers trailing at his tensed shoulders. He stayed motionless, his hands in tight fists, as Bella continued to provoke him. "I must say, I am impressed by your little brother. Whoever gets under your skin always impress me."

"But still, that must have struck you hard didn't it, Damon?" she asked him with feigned sympathy. He clenched his hands tighter on his sides, trying not to let his anger get the best of him. But it seemed like Bella wasn't concerned about that at all. She continued to provoke him and it lessened Damon's resolve by each passing minute.

"To be beaten by your own brother on your own silly game." She shook her head as her tongue clicked, indicating that she pitied him, though she really did not. He could see her satisfaction at his unease. To see him slightly flinching at her every word but his hurt couldn't possibly compare to what he had made her feel before. "How _heartbreaking_ that is," Bella mocked him with kindness and fake pity.

Damon's jaw snapped and his eyes flashed at her. He suddenly grabbed the hand that had been trailing on his chest and held it firmly. He didn't know what he expected, but most humans would definitely be frightened with that simple act. But what did he assume? Bella is definitely not human anymore. "What do you want from me?" he demanded.

Bella, who seemed amused at his reaction, looked at the hand that was holding hers. Her eyes flickered to his face, a smirk forming on her lips. "Oh, me?" she asked and she laughed humorlessly. "I don't want anything from you, Damon. I just wanted to see how you've been after...how many years? Oh, yes twenty isn't it? Quite a long time now..." she trailed as she took her hand away from his grasp.

She took the wine bottle from his other hand and began pouring its remaining contents on the glass in her right hand. His eyes once again flickered on the ring on her ring finger. "Who gave you the ring?" he asked as he stared at the design engraved on the dark blue stone. The initial 'B' stood out exceptionally, it was written in golden calligraphy, embossed on the silver encasing the gemstone.

"Not someone you probably know," she answered, slightly twirling the glass before drinking on it.

Damon stared at her, his eyes narrowing. "Enough games Bella," he demanded. But she ignored him by sipping some more wine.

"I'm not you, Damon," she snapped, her eyes narrowing but a smirk lingered on her lips. "I don't play games that I don't finish," she added as her left hand smoothed the crease on his black shirt, her fingers trailing over to his collar, almost touching the skin on his clavicle. "And this is not a game." He watched her closely, wondering about what she could possibly be thinking.

He figured that nothing would be answered if he continued to stare and so he spoke. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, sounding at ease. He noticed that her eyes were the darkest of browns, almost black. It was still the same eyes that he had looked at twenty years back. But the way they reflect the light, the way they were hooded by her long lashes made them entirely different.

She didn't answer right away. She leaned in towards the skin on his neck, just right above his veins. He could see her eyes dilating as she trailed her forefinger on the major vein that pumps the blood through his whole system. She inhaled, closing her eyes as the scent entered her system. "That's for you to figure out," she whispered as she leaned toward his ear, breathing on his scent.

He closed his eyes, prolonging the feeling of someone's warmth close to him. But then she pulled away and his eyes snapped open. She was walking towards the couch he was previously sitting on. She sat down, her back leaning firmly on the soft cushy cushion. Damon watched silently as she closed her eyes and sigh as though she was tired.

He watched her chest rise and fall in accord to her breathing. In and Out. Rise and Fall. It was odd to think how Damon compared himself with the simple innocent act. Oh, how he came in her life. It was easy and it felt natural. But then he detached himself and he knew it suffocated her. He knew that she would need him over and over, just like she needed to breathe.

Over and over.

It became an unending cycle.

A cycle that he broke the moment he flew out the window.

**~:~:~**

Damon continued to ask her about the man who gave her the ring but she refused to give anything away. No names, no clues, nothing. Trying to be cocky didn't work either. She just flirted back, making him forget what he was trying to do in the first place. He wasn't able to get anything out of her. Everything that she says only added up more questions rather than answers.

After some moment of constant questioning, she decided to give some clue. "I know, for a fact that he's probably not the kind of man I would want for myself, that he's not the kind of man that you would want for me. But—" Then she gave out a sarcastic laugh. "Don't you think that that's a little bit hypocritical, Damon? I mean, I am aware that he sleeps with other women, human women, just like you do." she hinted with a little bit of irritation. But then he continued to listen as though her words didn't mean anything to him at all.

She took no notice of his indifference as she continued. "We both know that it is his way of entertaining himself, right?" She asked again but it was clear to him that she wasn't expecting an answer. Her tone was becoming was more serious in every minute that passed. And Damon knows that she's serious though her tone showed otherwise.

She stopped for some moment, staring at the empty bottle of wine on the floor with steady eyes. Then she shook her head as though she was trying to remove a memory from her head, before continuing. "I also know that he flirts and socialize with human sluts but then he drinks them dry right afterwards." She gave out another dry laugh before carrying on.

She paused again, probably thinking her memories over. "Of course, he _occasionally_ meets other women like us, but I'm not worried or bothered. I know what he does and I accept it no matter what," she fervently said the words and Damon knew that Bella believed in every word that she had just said to him. But it sounded as though she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince him.

He silently watched as Bella took in the last drops of wine from the glass and licked her lips. He watched as her eyes glaze over, as though she thinking about something that he probably had no idea about. "Why?" he breathed out after a moment of silence. Her eyes refocused on him, not a smile on her lips. "Why do you trust him?" he asked curiously, removing the concern from his tone.

She suddenly stood up from the couch, her eyes never leaving his. Her lips were in a tight line that showed no hint of amusement. "Because he always comes back to me," she emphasized on the certain word and Damon slightly recoiled from her cold steady gaze. She averted her gaze from his, looking outside the window with a frown on her face.

There was suddenly a shattering sound of glass and Damon looked and saw _it_ damaged into pieces of shards. She didn't look fazed about breaking the wineglass with her bare hands, but she looked interested at the blood that stained her precious ring. She smiled ruefully and massaged her injured hand with the other. It healed moments later, leaving traces of dried blood on her hands.

"Glass is easily _broken_ and easily dispatched...it's so easy to break them and get another one in exchange. It's funny how humans cannot see that they're the glass in our eyes...easily broken...and easily _dispatched_," she murmured as she stepped hard on the broken glass on the floor, grinding them into smaller pieces with her heels. Damon watched her with his guarded eyes. He's aware of what she's implying, but there seemed to be no words to be said.

She just stood there, holding her bloody hand with the other, examining the stained ring with curiosity. "It is funny how this stone, a sign of protection, could mean much more than that," she whispered, staring outside the window as though she was thinking of the man that had given it to her. "Could mean much more to me," she whispered, almost inaudible to his ears.

For a moment, they just stood there in their peaceful silence, listening to the rain that was starting to pour outside the confines of their shelter. Damon was aware that the downpour of rain was not forecasted on the weather news of South Carolina in that evening. He was sure that he was not the catalyst of the change. He looked at Bella for answers, but she still has her back to him. She was still looking out the window with an unperturbed expression on her face.

Damon followed the direction of her eyes and noticed what was familiar for the first time. It was in placed in the same direction, the same proportion, the same angle. It was in the same height, same width, same everything. Its wooden edges were frayed due to time and its hinge sash was already nonexistent. Damon could see why she had been staring at it for an immeasurable time...

_Heavy rainfall fell upon the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina. The house of the famous Ricci Family stood in its glory, unperturbed by the chaos of rain and thunder outside its confines. All that can be heard from within was the cry of a young woman and the pleas coming from her lips, _"_Damon…don't leave." The young woman of eighteen grabbed his arm. _

_His eyes caught her tear-eyed face and he averted his eyes immediately, not wanting her cries to influence his decision. He refrained from eye contact as he tugged her hand off him as gently as possible. But she continued to grasp his arm in despair and he couldn't do anything but pull it away with much more force._

_She staggered backward, tears rolling down her face, staining her already soiled clothes. "When you leave you won't be coming back!" she accused him, but her voice sounded a mere babble of unintelligible words. "Damon, please!" she continued to beg, but he ignored her and walked towards the door. She knelt, blocking the door in the process as she sobbed, knowing that she's not strong enough to keep him back. _

"_Bella, you have to move," he demanded, his eyes menacing as it bores into hers. She shook her head furiously, sobbing in the process. He permitted himself to look at her one more time and he regretted it. How could he possibly forget this? How could he possibly sleep at night knowing he'd done something as irreversible as this?_

_In the end, he decided not to prolong his stay much longer. He heard her cry his name when he took off as a crow out the window and left the young woman sobbing on the cold wooden floors of the Ricci household. He closed his eyes and saw her face, tear-eyed and broken on the floor, sobbing for him to return... _

Then his eyes snapped open to reality when he heard her voice calling his name. He was once again facing the familiar window of pain, window of despair, window of no return. "I must say, Damon...this meeting had been very interesting," she started, still looking outside the window, unaware that he was just thinking about how he had left her. "There's so much to think about, so much to _plan,"_ she whispered as she stepped forward, her finger tracing the ragged edges of wood on the windowpane.

He heard her sigh as she pulled back her hand to trace her ring once again. "This meeting had been very eventful and I know, for a fact, that this would not be the last time." Before he could even get a word out of his mouth, she transformed into a white-feathered bird. Before he could even move a step forward, the majestic bird flew out of his window. Before his heart could beat another rhythm, she disappeared into the dark night sky...

She, Bella, disappeared the same way he, Damon, had disappeared from her life...

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**A/N: I forgot to mention that Elena did NOT die after Katherine was killed. Sorry about that. I just forgot that Elena sort of died in the book after Katherine was burned to ash. She wouldn't play a big part in this story so it doesn't really matter, but she will be mentioned every now and then. **

**~I hope this chapter is worth the wait. It's really hard to write a chapter that actually portrays feelings. Please do tell me if this was good, I don't know if this is your cup of tea.**

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Short Preview For The Next Chapter: (200 Words)**

"What is your name?" she asked the young girl. The human looked around the age of seventeen and looked almost identical to her. She frowned when she noticed that the girl does not have darker eyes like her. Bella's eyes moved further down and her mouth turned to a grimace when she noticed what the girl was wearing. It was insulting to see someone who looked much like you wear shabby clothes. _What would happen if people thought you were that person?_

The human girl shrunk deeper to her chair when she noticed Bella's criticizing gaze. "I-Isabella," the girl stuttered, making Bella smirk in return. She was trying hard not to frighten the girl until the _right_ moment, but she couldn't resist teasing her meal.

"Really? That's a coincidence, I know someone _very_ close to me whose name is Isabella too," she mused, smiling at the terrified girl beside her. She listened to the girl's unstable heartbeat and smiled, knowing that she's the reason for the girl's fright. "Tell me, are you travelling alone?" she asked the young Isabella while her eyes intently focused on the girl's, compelling her to answer.

Bella smirked at the girl's immediate answer. "Y-yes."

"That's very convenient..."

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**Review for a LONGER Preview. (620 Words) :D**


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